My Graduation Present
by lunarocks14
Summary: Teddy's graduating, and as he does, he receives an unexpected present, of sorts. James/Teddy. Slash. Written for the Graduation Challenge; Placed third.


**A/N: AU, since this is set two years before Teddy and Victoire were caught snogging, and that's not going to happen in this fic. This is my first attempt at a nice version of James II; I hope I did well.**

**Written for selenehekate's Graduation Challenge, over at the HPFC forum. Character given: Teddy Lupin. Emotion given: Surprise.**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own le characters in here, blah blah blah.**

Graduation day. Somehow Teddy's not surprised at the feeling of loneliness coming over him. He has friends in his year, true, but his closest friends are in years below, and he's not going to see them again much after this day. True, he'll see the Weasleys, Potters and Scamanders at Christmas – the Malfoys too; Scorpius, at least, which is a surprise to him as much as anyone; A Malfoy and a Potter, who'd have thought? Not him, certainly – but there's little chance of seeing anyone else. Part of him wishes he'd taken the Headmistress up on that job offer, but that would make him James' teacher, and he wants to hold on to the forlorn hope that he and James may get romantically involved, which would be off the cards in a teacher/student relationship.

And it _is_ a forlorn hope; Not least because James Sirius Potter is straight, thinks of Teddy as a brother, and is two years younger than him. Two years too young, in Teddy's opinion.

He sighs as he walks into the Great Hall for breakfast. Everyone's quiet today; The leaving day of the seventh-years is always a sombre day. He glances around, hoping to see James, but can't see his best friend anywhere. In silence, he eats, letting the calm chatter of his friends wash over him.

Once everyone's finished, there's a clattering as the students get up and head outside. The Graduation Ceremony is held outside, because that's what Hogwarts is like. Teddy sits, head bowed, waiting for his turn, clapping for everyone. His friends – Robbie, who winks at him as he strolls offstage, at ease as ever; Alison, who bursts into tears as the scroll is handed to her and doesn't stop for another half an hour or so; Mal, who smiles shyly, blushing and ducking his head shyly. He'll miss them, but he'll miss no-one more than James.

The ceremony drags by, something he is grateful for, and then finally it is his turn. He stands on stage, and finally sees James, sitting with the rest of the Potter-Weasleys. The people who are like his family smile up at him, and he smiles back, wishing that his parents could be here. He knows they are, in spirit at least, and he hopes he's made them proud, even if they would probably both have preferred him to have led a non-gay lifestyle. Although, who knew? Maybe they weren't homophobic. Maybe they would have been happy for him no matter who he loved. He'd never know, now.

All too soon, he's getting off the stage and standing with the others, hugging Robbie, Alison and Mal, assuring them he'll keep in touch, hugging others, too, some who he only knows by sight. Then, finally, but somehow too soon, it's over, and he's hugging his family. Harry, Ginny, Hermione, Ron, George, Angelina, Bill, Fleur, Charlie, Percy, Audrey, Rose, Hugo, Albus, Lily, Molly, Lucy, Roxanne, Fred, Victoire, Dominique and Louis, all giving him words of encouragement and luck; _I love you_s and _I'll miss you_s flying over his head as he searches for James, wanting to say a special goodbye to him.

He wanders away from the celebrations, the tears and laughter, the hugs and kisses, the farewells and goodbyes, wondering where James is. He reaches the Lake, and stands there, memories washing over him; New Years, jumping in the Lake for a dare; Swimming with James and his other friends; Picnics with those he loved; Skiving with anyone else who would join him.

Hearing a noise, he turns, and finally there's James, standing near to him, biting his lip. "Hey." Teddy says softly, not sure whether James is avoiding him or not.

James takes a deep breath. "Just... Stay in contact, okay?" Behind his glasses, his hazel eyes look sad and slightly... Nervous?

Teddy grins. "Of course. You're not gonna escape me, y'know. I'll write every week." To his surprise, James' eyes fill with tears. "What's wrong?" He asks, stepping closer.

James shakes his head. "I... I'm gonna miss you. Lots."

Teddy nods, glad of this in a way. "I'll miss you too. I'll come and visit you and your parents over the holidays, of course."

James' mouth twists up slightly at the corner and he nods, before biting his lip. "Teddy... I need to tell you something. I should have told you a while back, but... Well, I didn't, and now it's really too late, but I don't want to leave it even later, and –"

Teddy cuts across him, worried by James' tone and bright, nervous eyes. "I'm sure it's not too late, whatever it is." He reassures him.

"Well... It's... Kinda... Two things." James looks down at the ground, twisting his hands together nervously in a gesture Teddy always finds cute.

"Spill, then." Teddy encourages, shoving his hands into his pockets as he wonders if he really wants to hear this.

"I... I think... I _know_... That is to say, I _am..._" He sighs and takes a deep breath, closing his eyes. "I'm gay." He mutters.

Teddy's mouth falls open. "Oh. I – that's nothing to be ashamed of. It's fine, James, and, y'know, your parents will have no problem with it –"

"It's not my parents I'm worried about. It's... Well, there's this boy." James swallows.

Teddy's heart constricts. Damnit, he'd even worked up a molecule of hope, and now... Well. "Go on?"

"He's... Well, he's amazing. He's beautiful, and funny, and he never fails to cheer me up. He's the closest friend I have, and he's the most amazing person I know." James is smiling, now.

Jealousy courses through Teddy, and he nods. "So... You want advice or something?" He's being a little too blunt, he knows, but he can't help it.

"Well... Something happened today, something that means there's really no hope we can ever be together, something that means we're going our separate ways from now on. And the thing is..." He sighs. "Should I tell him, Teddy?"

Teddy wants to say no. He wants to tell him to keep it to himself, in the hope that the two really will go their separate ways and he, Teddy, will have a chance with James. But that's selfish. So, pushing his feelings aside, he says, "Yes. Tell him. I mean, if he likes you too, then that's okay, but if you really are going your separate ways –"

"Oh, we are." James' face is saddened.

"Then you won't have to worry about ruining the friendship. See where I'm coming from?" He asks, worried for a moment.

James nods, and then says quietly, "I'll tell him."

Teddy nods, ignoring the tightening in his chest. "Okay."

James looks at him. "I... God, this is hard."

"Well... Who is it? I can tell him for you, if you want." Why am I _helping_ him? He thought desperately.

"No, I have to tell him. It..." James sighs, and then mutters abruptly, "C'mon, you coward, what've you got to lose?" before he looks Teddy in the eyes, squares his shoulders and says, "It's... It's you."

Teddy blinks. "What's me?"

James blushes slightly, and bites his lip. "The person I like."

Teddy takes a moment to digest this. "Oh."

There's an awkward pause, before James nods and mutters something about having to go talk to someone. He turns to leave, then Teddy suddenly exclaims, "You _like_ me?" Shock and surprise is clear in his voice.

James bites his lip. "Yeah. Sorry. I mean... I'm just..." Words fail him. "Sorry."

Teddy starts grinning, realising it, taking it in properly, the surprise having blanked out the reality, the fact, the truth that _James likes him back._ "No, don't be sorry. I mean, I don't mind. I mean, I'm actually quite happy about it. I mean – oh, to hell with it." He steps closer, wraps his arms around James' waist, and kisses him.

Finally.

When both boys let go of each other, James is grinning cautiously. "So – you... You like me, too?"

"I love you," Teddy replies truthfully, and it's like a dam has been burst, because he continues; "I love you, I have for years now, only I thought you were straight, everyone did, and I pretended you were just a friend to me, and it was so damn hard acting, but I've been trying to persuade myself for years that you don't like me, so it was kind of a shock just now." He hugs James, who hugs him back gratefully.

"So... You do like me?" James seems surprised.

"Yes." Teddy rolls his eyes. "You're a little slow to catch on." He grins, stroking James' cheek.

"Well, you _did _say "Oh" when I told you," James reminds him.

Teddy shakes his head. "You took me by surprise, and that is all."

James starts grinning, properly, happiness taking over his face and lighting up his eyes. "Well, there's only one thing to say."

"What's that?" Teddy asks, head tilting to one side.

"Will you be my boyfriend?" He hasn't seen James this happy in forever, and it makes _him _happy to know that he's the reason James is happy.

"Yes. Forever, yes." He replies softly, and closes the gap between their lips again.


End file.
